From how I understand it now: A thousand lottery tickets were handed out with a prize of Nguyen; Vancouver got 476 tickets and Toronto got 383 tickets.
It looks like the signing of Nguyen is confirmed: http://www.theprovince.com/sports/Whitecaps+beat+rest+sign+international+Nguyen/5867497/story.html A previous poster from Carolina said to expect Rennie to find talent in odd or unexpected places. This seems to fit that description (along with this bizarre lottery. You guys are right, it's strange. I wonder do the interested teams have to hop on one foot while touching their noses and reciting poetry backward in order to be eligible?) I don't know anything about this player, but two things give me lots of hope: 1) I have a lot of respect for Gus Hiddink, and like that Nguyen was brought in and taught by him at PSV. 2) I like the fact he's coming here to play his way back onto the US national squad. That should give him some good motivation to play hard.
I read about him online today and I partly felt bad for him since Hidink left PSV and the new head coach had not preferred him, and further more they had demoted him to play in the reserves.... professional soccer is pretty cruel but my main concern is that will he be able to shine again once he return to NA soccer? Also another point is that alot of ppl are worried that Camilo is exiting because of the signing of Nguyen; I honestly these are two different matters. From what I know Nguyen is a winger/CAM. So i dont think he will take over Camilo's position.
I agree--Camilio didn't shine when asked to play the wing, as his defensive skills are lacking. I see him in a purely attacking role next year. I think Nguyen isn't the main issue, though, as to whether or not Camilo returns. Contract and his own desire to possibly play elsewhere are bigger factors, I think. After I posted yesterday, I found this article about a possible downside to Nguyen. The writer makes some good points. I'm not sure what to think (?) http://www.eightysixforever.com/201...tecaps-acquire-lee-nguyen-in-weighted-lottery
didn't nguyen tried to get a transfer to arsenal (because his old club, hoang anh gia lai is arsenal's sister club)
Caps sign Argentine defender Martin Bonjour http://www.whitecapsfc.com/news/2012/01/caps-sign-argentine-defender-martin-bonjour Looks like a solid signing.
It looks as if Pyo will be playing right back for the Whitecaps with Rochat at left back. This new guy Bonjour will probably partner Demerit at CB. This signing seems to shore up the back line much better. A goalkeeper is most important from here imo. Then the superdraft very well could cover the rest of the squad well enough.
Yea, it looks interesting. When the Caps started pursuing him it was questionable if he would leave his surroundings to come up here. Not sure how well he will do, but it is at least worth a shot.
i think that, given the improvements on defence, that their goalie, joe cannon, will have a good season-- i see no reason to spend $$$ bringing in another experienced goalie, but preparing a young goalie to take over in 1-3 years is really important... unless cannon has a significant injury, then the hunt is on
after the jarju debacle- which needs to be sorted out b4 the season starts-- i am confident that rennie has done his homework on this guy and he will be ready to play a good role in the mf
This article seems to suggest he may be a depth signing at center back: http://www.eightysixforever.com/201...d-argentine-defender-martin-bonjour#storyjump Given Boxall's inexperience, and Demerit's injuries and at times inconsistency last year, it may be a bit fluid in the central D to start the season. I like that he's big and aggressive, and that he can head the ball in both boxes. Mitchell can do that too. The Caps sorely lacked any aerial threat last year.
I agree. Maybe bring up Sylvestre as back-up for part or all the season if he's healthy. I haven't seen him play, but have heard good things. And, because he's a homegrown player, his contract may not count against the cap(?), which would leave room for a bigger name for the DM position, maybe. That's where I'm hoping for a big signing.
Rejuvenated Chiumiento must produce - 24 Hours I find the title of the article a little disingenuous considering the Rennie quotes in the article have nothing like the tone implies by the article title, but the article itself I found to be very heartening. I count myself as a massive Dede fan, but - like all Caps fans last year - was ready to reach through my TV screen and give his ass a kick during some of the games I saw him play in. But this article makes me think that Dede is going to be happier under Rennie, and - for a player like Dede - happiness affects production. He is not a workhorse, he is more like an artist, and you can get a lot out of an artist if you make sure the conditions they are in are conducive to production. I said at the time of the Rennie hiring that I thought this is exactly what Dede needed. Here's hoping.
If you're referring to the Pro Soccer Classic, tonight's game is on MLSsoccer.com still, and the Saturday final is on ESPN3.
For Canadian viewers, I'd think the final is probably also on MLS soccer. If not I'd probably have heard some outrage by now.
http://tsn.ca/soccer/mls/ TSN will be showing it. Maybe prompted by the fact that there are 2 cdn teams in the final?
Just saw that today, Cheers! TSN2 will show it on tape delay too. Prompted by the Canadian teams and possibly because ESPN owns 20% of TSN.
FORMER OLYMPICS CHIEF FURLONG TO GUIDE MLS' WHITECAPS VANCOUVER -- John Furlong is the new executive chair of the Vancouver Whitecaps. The former Vancouver Winter Olympics chief replaces Paul Barber, who left the team at the end of February. The Major League Soccer club announced Furlong's appointment Thursday morning at a downtown hotel. Furlong oversaw the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Prior to his appointment as the CEO of VANOC, he chaired Vancouver's Olympic bid group.
this an absolutely great move by the Caps owners-- a man who is a proven leader for developing big ideas, huge corporate connections, a love and understanding of the community, and a BIG soccer and Caps fan as well-- another step into building the Caps model in vancouver and beyond that the owners like greg kerfoot and steve mallet have always had-- a major upgrade from paul barber Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/business...aps+chairman/6448302/story.html#ixzz1rvvGoqyv